Ivan Vaughan (18 June 1942 – 16 August 1993) was an English musician and teacher best known for introducing two of his childhood friends,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

, in 1957.

Biography

Vaughan was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on the same day as McCartney and they both commenced school at the Liverpool Institute in September 1953. Vaughan studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, married in 1966 and settled down to family life with a son and daughter. From 1973 to 1983, Vaughan taught psychology at Homerton College, Cambridge. On grounds of ill health, he had to take early retirement. Vaughan died in Liverpool on 16 August 1993 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, at the age of 51.

Lennon and McCartney

At age 4, Vaughan became friends with a 6-year-old John Lennon. Lennon led a crew of friends with Vaughan, Nigel Walley, and Pete Shotton, who hung out around Liverpool at places like Strawberry Field. Vaughan met McCartney upon their entry to the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys in 1953. (Vaughan attended Liverpool Institute because his mother sought to separate him from Lennon, who was attending Quarry Bank High School.) He played tea-chest bass part-time in Lennon's first band,

the Quarrymen The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...

. He was responsible for introducing Lennon (then 16) to McCartney at a community event (the

Woolton Woolton (; ) is a suburb of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England. It is an area located southeast of the city and bordered by Allerton, Gateacre, Halewood, and Hunt's Cross. At the 2011 Census, the population was 12,921. Overview Originally a ...

village fête) on 6 July 1957, where the Quarrymen were performing. McCartney, having just turned 15, impressed Lennon by knowing all the lyrics to Eddie Cochran's song " Twenty Flight Rock", and with his guitar playing, Lennon invited McCartney to join the band. The next day, McCartney conveyed through Vaughan that he accepted the offer. This decision led to the formation of the

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...

partnership, which formed the nucleus of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. Lennon and McCartney kept in contact with Vaughan during the 1960s. Vaughan's wife Jan, a language teacher, helped McCartney with the French lyrics to the Beatles' 1965 song " Michelle". For a time, the Beatles put Vaughan on the payroll of their

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

company, in charge of a plan that never took off to set up a school. Vaughan's death touched McCartney so deeply that he began to write poetry for the first time since he was a child. He wrote the poem "Ivan" about him after his death, which was published in McCartney's 2001 book ''Blackbird Singing''.

Autobiographic and documentary

In 1977, Vaughan was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. His book, ''Ivan: Living with Parkinson’s Disease'', was published in 1986. He was featured in a 1984 BBC documentary, produced by Patrick Uden and hosted by Jonathan Miller, about his search for a cure.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Ivan 1942 births 1993 deaths Alumni of University College London Deaths from pneumonia in England English autobiographers Musicians from Liverpool People from Woolton People with Parkinson's disease The Quarrymen members Schoolteachers from Merseyside Skiffle musicians Fellows of Homerton College, Cambridge